I'm surprised that no one has yet broached this subject. The hockey fans are discussing Lord Stanley's Cup, and we had several threads about the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl a few months ago.

I've always considered basketball to be a "thinking man's sport," and so assumed that there would be at least a few roundball enthusiasts among this byunch of folkies. No?

I have little to say right now except to point out that wunderkind Chris Paul and the entire New Orleans Hornets team are very much for real.

Just because the national media chose not to provide them much of any TV exposure during the regular season does not mean that they are unworthy of interest and respect. Now that the playoffs are happening, the networks have little choice in the matter: they can only televise the games of teams that continue to win, and the Hornets are earning their way onto the airwaves. Don't be surprised if they're still on the tube well into June!